THE BOOK OF
MEDIA BIAS
Does media bias affects our thinking, and reasoning?
In the recent times, the media has been known for sensationalizing many news
events and giving unnecessary importance to certain issues. They wanted to
spread their agenda through news and information in order to influence the minds
of the audiences.
This book is inspired from the situation of biased
media my home country. This situation involves
with two protest groups. They have their own
media sources, which are considered to be news
spinners, driving people to take action against
the government and oppose each other side.
In general people are too easily influenced by
disinformation spread by the media.
During my research on situation of media
bias in U.S., I've found out that media bias
causes more issues other than just political
ones, and that people are not aware of the media

manipulating their way of thinking, even though
many realize the media is biased.
Someone might say the bias will never be
resolved because the media industry is too big
for us to handle. Still, If it can’t not be resolved,
but at least we “audiences” can help to reduce
it. Starting with ourselves by try not to be
manipulated by those lies.
As a graphic designer, I hope that this book
will be useful to the reader by giving insights
information and propose design solutions of
the problems from media bias.

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KNOW THE
COMMUNICATOR
Definition of Media
“Media” are the storage, transmission channels and tools used to store and deliver
information or data. It is often referred to as synonymous with mass media or
news media, but may refer to a single medium used to communicate any data for
any purpose. In this book we'll focus on the bias in “mass media.”
Mass media refers collectively to all media
technolog ies, including telev ision, f i lm,
newspapers, newsletter, magazines and other
form of publications. As time and technology
progressed, and as the Internet grew, more and
more avenues of mass media started arising. The
reach of these channels is far more profound and
deep, and there are certainly two ways of looking
at this accessibility to news and informations
including blogging, social networking, news
websites, podcasts, message boards and video
sharing. These are tools that used for mass

communications, and to the organizations which
control these technologies. Some people also
refer to the mass media as the “mainstream
media,” referencing the fact that it tends to stick
to prominent stories which will be of interest to
public audiences.
Media plays a ver y impor ta nt role in
shaping the personality of people in our society.
We often get our role models by hearing about
their actions and images from the media. And
over the years, mass media has played an
important role in making people understand

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our democracy , concerning about the strengths
and weaknesses of the economy of our country,
the population figures, the various problems
faced by the nation, achievements of the
governments in different sectors, through the
immediate and precise reporting of different
forms of media. Media plays an important role
in building a sense of unity and pride among
the people of a nation. In those countries where
there are many cases, religions and languages

reporting. One of those effects is the issue of
media bias.
According to The SAGE: Handbook of Media
Studies, contemporary research demonstrates
a n i ncr e a si ng level of c onc ent r at ion of
media ownership. It is characterized by the
ownership of a large number of media outlets
by a small number of corporations or media
conglomerates. Media concentration is closely
related to media bias.

Media plays a very important role in
shaping the personality of people in
our society.
spoken, media has even more responsibility to
convey the news to the public. Media makes
the public aware of their fundamental rights
and their duties towards their families, state
and the nation. The effects of mass media are
truly everlasting.
Though the positive effects are many,
there are some negative effects associated with
mass media. News which is published without
having been checked whether it is fact or not,
can create unnecessary confusion and extreme
feelings among the common masses. There
have been many instances of huge fights and
controversies emerging, because of improper

Some news and information from the
media can end up being biased so as not to
offend advertisers or owners. Countries, major
multinational corporations own media stations
and outlets. Often, many media institutions
survive on advertising fees, which can lead to
the media outlet being influenced by various
corporate interests. Other times, the ownership
interests may affect what is and is not covered.

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KNOW THE LIES
Definition of Media Bias
Media bias refers to the bias of journalists and news producers within the mass
media in the selection of which events and stories are reported and how they
are covered. The term "media bias" implies a pervasive or widespread bias
contravening the standards of journalism, rather than the perspective of an
individual journalist or article.
The direction and degree of media bias in
various countries is different. For example
in my countr y the situation of media bias
is serious. A nd for some countries, where
government controls the media, such as China,
Iran, Burma Libya and North Korea, they also
have media bias but towards the government
perspectives and benefits.
Practical limitations to media neutrality
include the inability of journalists to report
all available news stories and facts, and the

requirement that selected facts be linked into
a consistent narrative. Since it is impossible
to report everything, selectivity is inevitable.
Government influence and market forces can
result in biased reporting.
Some experts often point out that mass
media is the single most powerful device for
controlling and persuading the masses, and it
is naturally exploited in any number of ways
for its persuasive power. Advertising, political
persuasion, special interests, and covering

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of controversial issues, are several ways that
media acts in biased ways.
From what I've researched and having a
conversation with my party participants that I
invited them to have a discussions about media
bias. I found out that almost everyone including
myself has their own definition of media bias.
My own definition of media bias is when the
news is being reports with prejudice, using
false information to report on a news, including
cover up the truth from the public audience,

EUGENE LEE
“ For me when you say bias, I'm talking about
statistical bias. I think media biases are always
there, because when you're delivering news or
anything, It's just-someone's-opinion. People
who write, when you ask them what they do,
they don't say they just report, they are creating
art, every time. So there's always going to be
this bias. But how do make it, you make it by
manipulating statistics and numbers...Going
back when we talking about the 50's 60's 40's.

“I think the media bias it's just what
people what to hear. Like when you
what to hear something, you what
to hear it all the time and you shut
yourself to another point of view.”
—Ben Lim
also using media as tools for a propaganda.
these are the definitions from people that I've
a conversation with:
MEDELINE PRICHASON
“ Media bias just means only believing in what the
media tells you, not looking at another source,
limiting yourself from what media said.”

Advertising account executive

When people met FDR Franklin D. Roosevelt
for the first time, so many times people were
shocked that he was a paralytic because he
had Polio. When he was a child he was put in a
wheelchair. And when they did news on every
picture, they made sure that on every picture
you never took pictures of FDR below your

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waist. There were no picture or you rarely saw
him on a wheelchair. So when people actually
met him in person, they were surprised that
he didn’t walk around. And that's a media bias
right there.”
MORGAN McGEHEE
“ When you touch on the word manipulation—it's
like media manipulation of our perspective,
I think...When they try have us to follow one
perspective or their perspective of what they
what us to think.”
NNAMDI IHEMELU
“ For me, media bias comes down to like money,
who's paying who to get one point across. Like
Fox is different from CNN or MSNBC and
they all have their own little point that they
try to get across. But it has to do with selling
something. Is it Coca Cola or is it Budlight? It
all has to do with who's getting paid. So media
bias means money to me.”
DIANA BURMAN
“ It think it's playing on the lack of information
and playing with the full information and they
write what they thought.”
BEN LIM
“ From the media producer point of view because
I'm studying in advertising. Every profession
they have their own rights to do. That’s why the
reporter always says ‘It might happen’, ‘This
thing might happen.’ They use the words and
provided what they think. I think the media
bias it's just what people want to hear. Like
when you want to hear something, you what
to hear it all the time and you shut yourself
to another point of view. I think it depends on

people. Media just delivers what they've been
paid for.”
PRAMETH SOPHONTHAMMASIT
“ The first thing that comes up to mind for the
media bias is the benefits and opinion for
the person. In my field, in the films. Going
back to 1910, the English government used
the documentary to persuade and influence
people to get elected for another terms, so these
documentaries were propaganda. So the media
bias concerns benefit of organiztion or for some
people. It can be money or power.”
SIRANA HANWONGRITH
“ The media means the channel that you use to
send messages to the people and the bias is the
massage and the bias is what a PR or marketing
person has to get across by using the media to get
into the people. So the media depends on each
channel because for media itself is like a weekly
newspaper and national newspaper, they have
they own target audience. So then they are going
to pick some stories that could help to support
their image and also send the right message. So
they say something that people want to hear.”
BRADFORD EXANTUS
“ Media bias for me would also be like believing in
what you see. Because most of the time what are
we seeing on the TV is horrible—It's negativity,
humiliation and we believe in what they say.”
Form my conclusion, the reason that almost
everyone has their own definition of media
bias is. because of their personal experience,
background, occupation. Ultimately, it depends
on what they've learned about the media.

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THERE IS NO PUBLIC
CONSENSUS ON DEFINITON
OF WHAT “MEDIA BIAS” IS

Source: American Society of Newspaper Editors | http://asne.org

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29%

BELIEVE BIAS IS “FAVORITISM
TO A PARTICULAR SOCIAL OR
POLITICAL GROUP.”

29%

BELIEVE BIAS IS “HAVING AN
AGENDA AND SHAPING THE NEWS
TO REPORT IT.”

30%

BELIEVE BIAS IS “NOT BEING
OPEN-MINDED AND NEUTRAL
ABOUT THE FACTS.”

8%

BELIEVE ALL OF THESE ISSUES
ARE MEDIA BIAS.

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REASON FOR LIES
Fourteen types and reasons of media bias
1. DISTORTION
When a journalist or people connected with
reporting of a particular event have a prejudiced
opinion about things, which ultimately results
in a distortion of the story.
2. POLITICAL
Sometimes, there are media that may show a
political bias towards certain news events. This
happens when the publication or channel is in
favor of a particular political party.
3. JOURNALIST
A journalist may also be biased towards a
particular incident and may add his/ her
personal opinion to the news report. It's a
reporter's subjective comments about objective
facts. Making one side's ideological perspective
look better than another. This kind of media

bias is purely based on the journalistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own
opinion which is not considered to be purely
ethical as well.
4. RACIAL AND RELIGIOUS
Racial and religious bias can happen when the
journalist or news reporter gives reports in favor
of a particular race and religion. Racism is a
major issue, which can also end up in biased
news reports.
5. ADVERTISING
Advertisers or corporate companies may also
influence the way certain reports are presented.
Reports in this case, are presented in favor of
the particular corporate to give it prominence.
6. TIME AND RATING
Bias is also created by time constraints and
by the demand for higher ratings to gain more

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market share and more advertising revenue.
News outlets must appeal to the broadest
possible consumer base.
7. STORY SELECTION
Media bias can be seen when an editor or
producer may give importance to a specific
story on the page or on air to promote certain
viewpoints. This type of bias can happen when
an editor/producer wants to highlight the story
for personal reasons or outside influences.
8. OMISSION
Bias may also involve omission of facts while
reporting stories. Such omission may be of
critical information, so as to present certain
individuals in a favorable manner.
9. SENSATIONALIZE
A particular form of media bias can also happen
when the publication or news channel wants to
sensationalize one particular news event to gain
attention from the audience.
10. PUBLIC INTEREST
The media tends to appeal to a specific target
audience, which means stories that affect a
large number of people on a global scale are
more likely to revceive less coverage in some
media markets and countries, such as a school
shooting, a celebrity scandal, a plane crash or
a shocking story. For example compared to a
different country, recent conflicts in Egypt and
Libya might be afforded coverage in the U.S.
but not in Thailand. The news about conflict in
Africa rarely appears on Thai media, while the
Earthquake and Tsunami that recently struck
Japan revceived wide coverage. On the contrary,
flooding in southern province of Thailand that

killed 21 people and stranded thousands of
tourists revceived less coverage than the Japan
disaster, which happened at the same period of
time. This type of bias is a function of what the
public is interested in and wants to hear.
11. CONFLICT OF INTEREST
Sometimes the bias has also been claimed in an
issue referred to as a conflict of interest, where
owners of media outlets have vested interests in
other commercial companies, political parties
or are even producers among competitive media
outlets themselves.
12. S ECTION OF SOURCES
This bias can be seen when a reporter uses such
phrases as “experts believe”, “observers say,” or
“ most people believe” to make audiences believe
that a news source is realiable.
13. PLACEMENT
Most people read only the headline. Bias by
placement is where in the newspaper, in an
article a story or event is printed. This involves
the pattern of placing news stories so as to
understate or promote particular information
or news.
14. ENDORSEMENT AND CONDEMNATION
This form of media bias can be seen where the
reporting on stories has involved endorsement
or condemnation of public policies instead of
presentation of facts.

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80%

OF PEOPLE BELIEVE THAT
SENSATIONAL NEWS STORIES GET
COVERAGE BECAUSE THEY ARE
EXCITING NOT BECAUSE THEY
ARE IMPORTANT.

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Source: American Society of Newspaper Editors | http://asne.org

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PROPAGANDA
MODEL OF MEDIA
Hypothesizing systematic biases of U.S. media
The propaganda model is a conceptual model in political economy proposed by
Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky, who state how propaganda, including
systemic biases, function in mass media. The propaganda model seeks to explain
how populations are propagandized and how consent for economic, social and
political policies are â&#x20AC;&#x153;manufacturedâ&#x20AC;? in the public mind due to this propaganda.
Although the model was based mainly on the
characteristics of U.S. media, Chomsky and
Herman believe the theory is applicable to
any country that shares the basic economic
structure and organizing principles as the
cause of media biases. The theory consists of
five general classes that determine the type of
news that is presented in news media. These
five classes are:
OWNERSHIP OF THE MEDIUM
Since mass media outlets are currently either

large corporations or part of conglomerates
the information presented to the public will
be biased with respect to these interests.
According to this reasoning, news items that
most threaten the corporate financial interests
will face the greatest bias and censorship.
MEDIUM'S FUNDING SOURCE
Most newspapers have to maintain a high
proportion of advertising in order to cover
the costs of production; without it, they would
have to increase the price of their newspaper.

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According to this filter, the news itself is
nothing more than “filler” to get readers to see
the advertisements which makes up the real
content, and will thus take whatever form is
most attracting to readers.
According to The Propaganda Model:
An Overview by David Cromwell, A 1992 U.S.
the study of 150 news editors found that 90%
said that advertisers tried to interfere with
newspaper content, and 70% tried to stop
news stories altogether. 40% admitted that

SOURCING
The mass media are draw n into mutual
benefit relationship with powerful sources
of information by economic necessity and
reciprocity of interest. Therefore, the media
concentrate their resources where major
news stories are likely to happen. Editors and
journalists who offend these powerful news
sources, the media will become reluctant to
present articles that will harm corporate
interests that provide them with the resources.

“A 1992 U.S. study of 150 news editors
found that 90% said that advertisers
tried to interfere with newspaper
content and 70% tried to stop news
stories altogether.”
—David Cromwell
advertisers had in fact influenced a story. In the
US, the figure is ten billion dollars a year on TV
advertising alone. An advertising-based system
makes survival extremely difficult for radical
publications that depend on revenue from sales
alone. Advertising is like media ownership,
therefore acts as a news filter.

Scottish writer and activist.

Robert W. McChesney, a professor of
communications at the University of Illinois
states that Professional journalism relies
heavily on official sources. Reporters have to
talk to the White House press secretary, the
business association, the army general. What
those people say is news. Their perspectives

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are automatically reasonable or trustworthy.
But if a journalist talk to prisoners, labouring
class workers, homelesses, or protesters, you
will automatically draw their perspectives as
unreliable or dishonest, instead you've become
an advocate and are no longer a “neutral”
professional journalist.
FLAK
For Chomsky and Herman “f lak” refers to
negative responses to a media statement or
program. The term “f lak” has been used to
describe what Chomsky and Herman see as
targeted efforts to discredit organizations
or individuals who disagree with or cast
dubiousness on assumptions, which are viewed
as favorable to established power.
In the U.K., environmental journalist
Andrew Rowell states that, Britain's archaic
libel laws prevent much of the real truth
about the destructive nature of many of U.K.'s
leading companies from ever being published
or broadcast.

ANTI-COMMUNIST AND FEAR
Communism once posed the primary threat
according to the model. Communism and
socialism were portrayed by their leader or
detractors as threatening freedoms of speech,
movement, and the press. Herman and Chomsky
state that such a portrayal was often used as a
means to silence voices critical of elite interests.
The fifth filter also applies to media
demonization of anti-globalization protesters,
which are often described as “rioters” and
perceived as a threat.

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THE PROBLEM
Why is Media Bias an Issue?
There is a rational behind the changing of news content. Given that the average
audience wants to be entertained and the time and attention available to
commit to news stories, the press has shaped its focus to deliver content in an
entertaining and compact size format. As a result, news stories are present to
ignite an emotive response to grab attention from the audience.
As a result, news stories are presented to ignite
an emotive response to grab attention from the
audience. Often, this attempt is misleading.
The use of words to imply suspicion, vague,
controversy and fear to elevate public interest.
This is seen as good media presentation because
it gets audiences to pay attention. The benefit
of increasing mass media distribution is an
increase in advertising revenue. Therefore,
the ration behind a sensationalizing of news
content has been shaped by the public interest.

It is probably understood by most that the
news media is doing this on a regular basis.
But media bias reaches deeper, affecting the
mind of the audiences because itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s so subtle.
The sensational depiction of events is overt
and thereby acceptable by most of society. But
the covert misrepresentation of facts, either by
omission or sensationalized are not perceived
as if the facts are covered.
We need to understand there are always
two sides to every story. As a result, both sides

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need to be given equal representation and
equal weight so that the audience can decide
for themselves what the meaning of the news
is. Even though the Media Code of Ethics
clearly states as a core value, it is not always
follow through. Additionally, journalists have
a difficult time not selecting their stories, words
and sources independent of their personal views
and the views of their newsroom.

those who favor the right to choose Palestinian,
while an audience has assigned a negative label
to those who want to preserve the right to Israel.
Therefore, words to describe any person, event,
or entity can quickly shape the mind of the
audience in a very subtle way.
SOURCES
The selection of news sources for stories by
journalists should be present both sides of

But media bias reaches deeper,
affecting the mind of the audiences
because it’s so subtle.
These are some examples of covert media
bias that the average news consumer would
digest without a thought are:
WORDS
The selection of words to describe one side,
compared to the other can slant an audience
perception. An example would be, describing one
side of the Israel and Palestinian issue as ProIsrael versus Pro-Palestinian. To give both words
the same weight, one would need to describe each
as Pro-Israel and Anti-Israel, or Pro-Palestinian
and Anti-Palestinian. As you can evaluate for
yourself, if a reporter uses the “Pro-Palestinian”
versus “Anti-Palestinian” terms, an audience
has automatically assigned a positive label to

perspective. Eventhoug if this is achieved, the
quality and of the source may be higher on one
side than the other, or only one source is quoted
on one side and several on the other. This could
lead to a slanted story, which can imply as the
unbalanced reporting.
NEWS SELECTION
The news is often controlled by the newsroom.
Topics are accepted and others overlooked
given the agenda of the powers that based upon
what topics fit into the headline news. This is
important to realize because the big issue is
being missed by the public by not seeing all
perspectives, political campaigns, business
empire, and every aspect of people’s lives. Beyond

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ignoring news, the media may even be sarcastic
while promoting others.
POLITICAL AGENDA
It would be impossible to believe that a support of
a political candidate or party by any news media
wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t affect its news coverage. As a result, it
is cautious for audiences to examine the political
views of the media and the reporters. It is easy
for the media and its reporters to becoming a
promotion for a political party figure or any

subject of self-interest, rather be a nonpartisan
and reporting facts. The audiences do not know
this, they can be influenced to believing that the
best candidate represented through media has
the whole truth.
POWER AND PRIVILEGE
Often those in power or in positions of privilege
have positive repoting than an average person.
This can give the wrong idea to an audience.
An example of painting someone one way or

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another would be citing behaviors of one that
are positive, like a candidate kissing babies,
while in the same article, an opposing candidate
is shown or described as being exhausted by his/
her campaign schedule. This type of coverage
is a subtle way to improve the standings of one
candidate over another.
Media bias is extensive as presented in the
points above. When one adds the overt practice
of sensationalizing news, an audience has a

huge task whether or not they know it. This is
of great concerns because if most of the people
most of the time, believe everything they read or
view, they will ultimately become the servants
of those who write or publish, by voting (or not
voting) for candidates or issues from the same
biased perspective. Therefore an inquiry by
all is required if we are to make independent
decisions that affect peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lives.

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METHODS OF
MANIPULATION
The ways that the media use to influences us
The media are seen as powerful tools to manipulate, influence and persuade
audiences. And they have their methods of manipulation for these purposes. The
example we all know is advertising. But we shall take a look at the methods by
which the biases are presented.
OMISSION AND SUPRESSION
Manipulation involves the information that is
left unmentioned to keep it from being aired
or published (also happens with censorship).
Sometimes the omission includes not just
essential details of a story but the entire story
itself, even one of a major important issue.
LIES
The media could lie about a story or making up
news by using false information, manipulating
photographs, also including numbers and
statistics to create a false impressions.

A c c or d i ng t o New York T i me s, i n
2005, there was a large amount of fake and
prepackaged news created by U.S. government
departments, such as the Pentagon, the State
Department and others, and disseminated
through the U.S. media. The New York Times
noted a number of issues including:
1. The U.S. under Bush administration using
public relations to making news. Issues with
this have included that:
- A number of these government-made
news segments are made to look like local news

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segments are made to look like local news
(either by the government department or by
the receiving broadcaster).
- Sometimes these reporters have fake
reports such as when a “reporter” covering
airport safety was actually a public relations
professional working under a fake name for the
Transportation Security Administration.
- Other times, there is no mention that a
video segment is produced by the government.
- Where there is some attribution, news
stations simply rebroadcast them but sometimes
without attributing the source.
2. These segments have reached millions.
3. This benefits both the government and the
media outlets.
4. This could add up to propaganda within the
U.S. as well as internationally.
REPETITION
Media bias often repetitively mentions a certain
news story to make the audience remember what
it is being told. It could lead people to believe
that it is true, very widespread, and much more
important than it really is.
LABELING
Media bias seeks to manipulate our perception
of a story with a positive or negative label. The
label defines the story and does it without having
to deal with actual particulars that might lead
us to a different conclusion. For example, some
positive labels are “political stability,” “the
president's firm leadership,” “a strong defense”
and “a healthy economy.” And for some common
negative labels are “guerrillas,” “terrorists”,
“conspiracy theories,” and “gangsters,” and

These are rarely treated within a larger context
of social relations and issues.
FACE-VALUE
One way to lie is to accept at face-value what are
known to be official lies, uncritically passing them
on to the public without enough confirmation or
could be is perceived as “objectivity.”
COMISSION
Within the space or time limit constraining
them, reporters are supposed to provide roughly
equal time to presenting the best perspective
of different sides of an issue. If the reporter
presents only one perspective or passes along
only the “facts” espoused by liberals without any
acknowledgment that conservatives disagree,
then he has committed bias by commission. For
example, if liberals say “A” and conservatives
say “B” then the story should summarize both
perspectives. A nthor obvious example in
U.S. media is Fox News that present the news
favoring to the Republican Party.
FRAMING
Journalist can create a desired impression
without possibility to obvious support and
without going too far from the aspect of
journalism objectivity. Framing is bending
the story, achieved in the way the news is
made, the placement, the tone of presentation,
vague words, the headlines and photographs,
also in the visual and auditory effects of the
broadcasted media. For example, reporters
using tone to sustain their credibility such as,
“How will the situation end?... Only time will
tell.” or “No one can say for sure.”

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“The people will believe what the
media tells them they believe.”
—George Orwell

English author and journalist.

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| THE HIDDEN AGENDA

EFFECT |

EFFECT

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EFFECT | 39

EFFECT IN
THAILAND
Biased media divides protesters in Thailand
I want to point out the example of a serious situation of media bias that affects the
people in Thailand, my home country. Some media in Thailand is considered to be
news spinners that drive people to take action against the government, with these
people easily influenced by the disinformation spread by the media.
Each protest group operates their own media
outlets. The United Front for Democracy
Against Dictatorship (UDD), whose supporters
are commonly called “Red Shirts” who draw
their support from rural and working-class
Thais, operate People’s Channel TV and others
media such as radio, newspaper, magazines and
websites. The movement receives support from
former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
The People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD)
was formed to lead demonstrations against the
government of Thaksin Shinawatra, also called

the National Liberation Alliance Thai Patriots
Network or the “Yellow Shirts” supported by the
Sondhi Limthongkul-owned Manager Media
Group, including Manager Daily newspaper
and the ASTV satellite television channel and
conservative division of the Thai Army, some
leaders of Democrat Party, and members of
state-enterprise labor unions. The PAD consists
of mainly of royalist upper and middle-class
and Southerners. They get the news from ASTV,
and others media outlets, including websites.
Both side media considered to be overtly biased.

40

| THE HIDDEN AGENDA

UDD supporters have been the anti-PADs
since the 2006 coup d'état, which overthrew
Thaksin five weeks before a scheduled general
election. They accused the PAD of supporting
the coup d'état. From then on, clashes between
supporters of the two groups have taken place
from time to time. And the tools that have been
used to spread hatred between both sides stem
from the media. Also, the UDD has been criticized
by the PAD as being an "anti-monarchist", and
even a "republican" movement, and many Web

working class people, who tend to believe in
what media said. For example, most of the taxi
drivers in Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand,
tend to support the UDD. They will receive
news from People’s Channel radio or so called
Red Shirt Channel. The news is present on this
station mostly about the negative news and
failure of the current government, promoting
their supported political parties. I recall to
asking one of these Taxi drivers, “Why do you
listen to this station?, Why don't you want to

The greatest threat of media bias
is it can influence mind of the mass
and make people believe in those lies,
regardless of the reality and the truth.
sites and other media supportive to the UDD
have been shut down under Thailand's strict
lese majeste laws.
From my personal experience when I
watch and read both sides media I found out
that sometimes they lie about the information
or facts, making up the stories and using words
to try to manipulate the audience. Although,
some stories are true, many aren't.
People who have been influenced by the
lies of both media, the most that I've seen are

listen to something else? Don't you know some
of the information is false?” And he said “I want
to believe because I believe in Mr. Thaksin
Other stations are always lying about him.”
The same goes with PAD. Most supporters
are middle class and they get their news from
ASTV station and mostly from the website of
Manager Newspaper, which has an obvious bias
towards Thaksin Shinawatra and his supportes.
The news on the website presents opposite facts
to the Red Shirt Channel. One of my friends

EFFECT |

who studied at the same university when I was
in my undergraduate degree was a supporter of
PAD. He read the news from the website all day.
When I ask him why did he always read news
from this website, and whether he knew about
the news bias. The answer was â&#x20AC;&#x153;They aren't
biased, they tell the truth and other sources
are instead biased towards the Yellow shirts.â&#x20AC;?
A nother exa mple is my fa m i ly. My
grandmother always reading magazines from
the Manager group and my aunt is watching

the news from the People's channel. If they
ever talked about the same issue, they held to
different perspectives that they received from
the media, always having a big argument.
I think the greatest threat of media bias is
its influence on the minds of the masses, making
people believe in those lies, regardless of the
reality and the truth.

41

42

| THE HIDDEN AGENDA

EFFECT | 43

“Some media have resorted to telling
their viewers and listeners to even kill
the prime minister of the country.”
—Korkaew

Thai Columnist

44

| THE HIDDEN AGENDA

U.S. MEDIA
Reporting on the riot situation in Thailand
The riot situation of the “Red Shirt ” protesters riot in Bangkok on May 19th,
2010—was reported with CNN giving one side of the story of the protesters.
There were accusations of Dan Rivers CNN’s
correspondent in Thailand and Sara Snider
inter viewed the Red Shirt protesters and
their leaders. According to the president of
Thailand Satellite Television Association,
Niphon Naksompop, who compared video
clips of the riot situation in Thailand by foreign
media, including CNN, Al Jazeera and France
24. Niphon states that “CNN inter viewed
protesters and their leaders, who said they
only had slingshots, fireworks, firecrackers
and rocks while the troops were armed with war
weapons. But Al Jazeera showed the picture of
protesters holding guns.”

On the other hand, no direct interviews
with government officials had been shown, no
interviews or witness statements from residents
or civilians in the area who had been harassed or
who suffered from the actions of the protesters.
Also, CNN was criticized for being pro-Thaksin
Shinawatra.
Entertainer Kamol Sukosol Clapp, who
lives in downtown Bangkok, said he had gone
to the critical areas and see if the violence would
possibly reach his house. He had heard rumors
spread in the area and needed to check out what
was actually happening on the ground. He was
at the same spot that CNN's Dan Rivers was

EFFECT
EFFECT
| 45| 45

reporting on one occasion, and his experience
was different from what the reporter was saying.
These are some of the accusations from one
of the Thai citizens who wrote a letter to CNN.
“Your news network, by its longtime
transnational presence and extensive reach,
has been put in a position of trust and care; CNN’s
journalists, reporters, and researchers have a

seem to have been solely taken from the
anti-government protest leaders or their
followers/sympathizers. Yet, all details about
the government’s position have come from
secondary resources. No direct interviews
with government officials have been shown; no
interviews or witness statements from ordinary
Bangkok residents or civilians unaffiliated with

It's also involved with perception
of how Westren audience will see
my counrty and understand the real
situation that happened.
collective responsibility to follow the journalist’s
code and ethics to deliver and present facts from
all facets of the story, not merely one-sided,
shallow and sensational half-truths.”
“CNN should not negligently discard its
duty of care to the international populace
by reporting single-sided or unverified facts
and distorted truths drawn from superficial
research, or display/distribute biased images
which capture only one side of the actual event.”
“Mr. Rivers and Ms. Snider have NOT
done their best under these life-threatening
circumstances because many other foreign
correspondents have done better. All of Mr.
Rivers and Ms. Sniders’ quotes and statements

the protesters, particularly those who have
been harassed by or suffered at the hands of
the protesters, have been circulated.”
These are the examples of media reporting
on one side of the story, with a lack of correction
or balanced information. Apart from the bias
by the Western Media, it's also involved with
the perception of how Westrern audiences see
my counrty and understand the real situation
as it happened.

46

| THE HIDDEN AGENDA

“ We are not just fighting against
those in the media that give distorted
stories. We are also battling the
perception of how developed
countries see developing countries.”
—Somtow Sucharitkul

Thai musical composer and author

EFFECT |

47

48

| THE HIDDEN AGENDA

48 | COUNTING SHEEP

EFFECT | 49

PERSONAL
How media bias affects us
The media affects our daily lives in numerous ways, from television, radio, print
media and internet. Many people today are not aware the media is manipulating
their way of thinking and influence their opinions on certain issues such as
abortion, homosexuality, racism, and politics.
Today's media can easily influence on us faster
than you think because of the advancements of
technology. News is very easy to access. We can
receive the news from everywhere and any time
that we want and it makes the bias grow faster
and spread more widely.
The effect of bias starts from personal
issues but it might eventually lead to the bigger
problems. As I mentioned in a previous chapter
and about the situation in my country is an
example about why media bias is a problem,
which can influence our perception, the way

we think, our decision making, or even on how
we interact with each other.
There are two psychological explanations of
a person who has been influenced by media bias:
HOSTILE MEDIA EFFECT
The hostile media effect sometimes called the
hostile media phenomenon, refers to the finding
that people with strong biases toward an issue
perceive media coverage as biased against their
opinions. Proponents of the hostile media effect
argue that this finding cannot be attributed to
the presence of bias in the news reports, since

50 | THE HIDDEN AGENDA

partisans from opposing sides of an issue rate
the same coverage as biased against their side
and biased in favor of the opposing side.
According to Economist Jeremy, he states that

references that painted Israel in a positive light
a nd 26 references t h at pa i nted Isr ael
unfavorably. Pro-Israeli viewers, who watched
the very same clips, spotted 16 references that

According to Economist Jeremy Burke,
he states that even unbiased viewers
actually prefer viewers actually prefer
biased reporting.
even unbiased viewers actually prefer states
that even unbiased viewers actually prefer
biased reporting.
According to Washington Post article by
staff writer Shankar Vedantam entitled “Two
Views of the Same News Find Opposite Biases,”
article by staff writer Shankar Vedantam. He
exa mines how pro-Israel a nd pro-A rab
audiences frequently view the same news
through two very different news filters and
form diametrically opposing views about the
nature of that news.
Vedantam refers a 1982 study of 144
subjects–of both pro-Israel and pro-Arab
dispositions–who were asked to view the same
6 television news segments about the 1982
Isreal-Lebanon conflict. The results, according
to Vedantam, “Pro-Arab viewers heard 42

painted Israel positively and 57 references that
painted Israel negatively. Both groups were
certain they were right and that the other side
didn’t know what it was talking about.”
The psychological explanation for the
hostile media effect results in a combination
of two human cognitive biases. The first bias,
confirmation bias, is the tendency to prefer
evidence that supports our own beliefs and
preconceptions regardless of whether the
information is true. The second bias, attribution
error, refers to the tendency to overvalue
dispositional explanations for the behavior of
others, while undervaluing situational factors.
For instance, we make mistake and we blame
it on others. And I would say the situaton of
media bias in my counrty, the hostile media
effect phenomenon has already happened.

EFFECT |

THE THIRD-PERSON EFFECT
Third-person media effect is a psychological
hypothesis first formulated by psychologist
W. Phillips Davison in a seminal 1983 article
in Vol. 47 of Public Opinion Quarterly. In that
article, he wrote “In its broadest formulation,
this hy pothesis predicts that people will
tend to overestimate the influence that mass
communications have on the attitudes and
behavior of others. More specifically, individuals
who are members of an audience that is exposed
to a persuasive communication will expect the
communication to have a greater effect on others
than on themselves.”
The explanation for the fact that people
on both sides of an issue can see the media as
biased against their own perspective is that each
observer assumes an unbalanced effect will be
achieved by information, arguments or facts
supporting the “wrong” side of the issue. Others
(the third persons), the observer reasons, will
be excessively influenced by the information,
arguments or facts.
This phenomenon is in the minds of many
audiences to believe that media was truly
balanced or unbiased. They would lean toward
the “correct” side of the issue. In other words,
to determine what they feel is the overt bias of
the media, they would want to see more overt
bias in their direction. For example, liberals
argue there have much liberal bias in media
today, and cite conservative radio talk show
host Rush Limbaugh, conservative political
commentator, an opinion leader in conservative
politics and conser vatism or Fox News as

evidence. Eric Alterman, a media columnist
for The Nation magazine, wrote a book in 2003
entitled “What Liberal Media?” to respond to
accusations by conservatives of liberal bias in
media. And in November 2002, former Senate
Minority Leader, Tom Daschle went to argue
that Limbaugh were elevating dangerous
attitudes in the minds of the public. When
asked if he believed there was a link between
such conservative talk radio criticism and his
personal security, he said: “I do. Oh, absolutely...
certainly in terms of threats, I think that there’s
no question.”
According to Slate online magazine writer
Jack Shafer concludes of this issue “Whenever
conservatives talk to liberals about press biasor vice versa-they talk right past one another.
Both factions seem to work backward from their
conclusions to the evidence and damn what the
other side says.”
There is a similarity between U.S. and Thai
media bias issues, with both sides are claiming
that the opposition is biased. This can be used
as example of the third person media effect.

51

52

| THE HIDDEN AGENDA

“One great truth of political life is that
each side is absolutely convinced that
the other has an unfair advantage in
getting its views out.”
—James Fallows

A national correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly

EFFECT | 53

54 | THE HIDDEN AGENDA

EFFECT | 55

POLITICAL
How media bias affect the voters and electoral politics
In a representative system of government, policy outcomes are affected by the
political preferences and the beliefs of the voters. The media plays a key role in
shaping these preferences and beliefs. It collects, summarizes, and frames the
information that voters use in their voting decisions.
The media injects bias into news coverage of
a political candidate or party. To give the U.S.
media as an example, Fox News considered to
be the case of a new media source that is more
positive to the Republicans than others. So Fox
News reports more positive (and less negative)
news about the Republican candidate.
A rational viewer, knowing the exact degree
of the bias, realizes that often bad news hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t
been reported and good news is overstated. If
the viewer has a sense of media is being biased,
he or she will take into account the media

sourceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bias and discount the news about the
candidate. This is the case for an audience who
receives a news for the first time. But if a viewer
who isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t aware about the bias watches reports
about a Republican or Democrats candidate
and finds the reports to be positively related
to what an audience had expected, that an
audience may reformed his or her beliefs
thinking that the candidate is a truly good
candidate. That viewer may even switch party
lines, which could have an impact on voting in
the U.S. presidential election.

56 | THE HIDDEN AGENDA

Interestingly, by 2001 Fox News Channel
replaced CNN as the ratings leader in the cable
news war, and has remained the highest-rated
cable news source to date. Fox News is the most
commonly used primary source of political
information for television audiences. In fact,
daily newspapers are the only media outlet that
is used more often as a primary news source
than Fox News.

Coverage of Party Conventions, the research
found that prime-time coverage of the 2004
Democratic National Convention on Fox News
was significantly more negative in tone than
its coverage of the Republican Convention.
This same study also found that Fox News’s
convention coverage of Democratic nominee
John Kerry was more negative than coverage
of George W. Bush.

Daily newspapers are the only media
outlet that is used more often as a
primary news source than Fox News.
Several political observers and pundits
credit the success of Fox News to the station’s
ability to appeal to conservatives who were
d isappoi nted w it h t rad it iona l net work
television news and who perceived traditional
outlets to have a liberal bias. Preliminary
experimental research on this topic indicates
that the regular Fox News audience has in fact
become more Republican since the channel
was established. Data from the Pew Research
Center’s Biennial Media Consumption study
shows that more than ⅓ of all Republicans or
36% watch Fox News on a regular basis.
According to From Net work News to
Cable Commentary The Evolution of Television

As for the electoral politics. According
to media criticism organization Fairness and
Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR), Democratic
candidate John Edwards was falsely maligned
and was not given coverage consistent with his
standing in presidential campaign coverage
bec au se h is messages have quest ioned
corporate power.
A poll of 2008 U.S. presidential election
voters released on March 14, 2007 by Zogby
Internationa l repor ts that 83% of those
surveyed believe that there is a bias in the media,
with 64% of respondents of the opinion that this
bias favors liberals and 28% of respondents
believing that this bias is conservative.

EFFECT |

In August 2008 the Washington Post
ombudsman wrote that the Post had published
almost three times as many page 1 stories
about Barack Obama than it had about John
McCain since Obama won the Democratic
party nomination that June. In September
2008 a Rasmussen poll found that 68% of voters
believed that â&#x20AC;&#x153;most reporters try to help the
candidate they want to win.â&#x20AC;? 49% of respondents
stated that the reporters were helping Barack

Obama to get elected, while only 14 percent said
the same regarding John McCain. And 51%
said that the press was actively "trying to hurt"
Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah
Palin with negative coverage.
These was an example to point out that the
media have a great effect on the political system
and have great influnces on voters to choose
their support to a political party.

57

58 | THE HIDDEN AGENDA

PERCENTAGE OF PUBLIC
USING MEDIA AS PRIMARY
SOURCES FOR INFORMATION
ON INTERNATIONAL AND
NATIONAL NEWS

Source: The Pew Research Center’s December 2004 Political Typology Survey, release date May 10, 2005.

EFFECT | 59

Television
Other Media

Fox News

13%

CNN

12%

MSNBC

CNBC

ABC News

CBS News

NBC News

Local News

Newspaper

Radio

Magazines

Internet

1%

9%

10%

7%

9%

2%

2%

5%

17%

12%

60 | THE HIDDEN AGENDA

“The bites of information voters
receive from both print and electronic
media are simply insufficient for
constructive political discourse.”
—William E. Hudson

Author of American Democracy in Peril

EFFECT |

61

62

| THE HIDDEN AGENDA

EFFECT | 63

CULTURAL &
SOCIAL EFFECT
Media bias towards racial, religion and gender
Because the diversity of U.S. population. The media tends to be bias against other
race or could be called “racism” or “stereotype” against others nationalities and
religions. And from the conversation that I had with others, this could include a
gender as one of the biased issue.
RACISM
The media have devoted most of the time to
mention negative aspects and too little time to
describing the background problems of AfricanAmericans. What is not a crisis is not usually
reported. The news media respond quickly
interest to the report conflicts and controversies
of racial stories.
One of the main reasons for the insufficient
coverage of the essential causes of racial
stereotypes in the U.S. is that the condition
of blacks itself is not a matter of high interest

to the white majority. Their interest in black
America is focused upon situations in which
their imagined fear becomes a real problem.
Accoriding to Ronald L. Taylor, The Harm
Wrought by Racial Stereotype. Research had
disclosed that most serious crimes (homicide,
rape, robbery, and assault) in inner cities are
committed by a very small proportion of
African-American youth, some 8% by estimates.
Even though the bias to characterize some
African-American males as criminals continues
in our society. It is common for police officers

64 | THE HIDDEN AGENDA

stop African-American males. Clearly that
the negative media stereotype has affect the
African-American community.
ARAB AND ISRAEL CONFLICT
Most of the U.S. and U.K. tend to provide
distorted coverage of the Israel-Palestine
conflict. There are a number of factors that
contribute to this pattern of biased, omission,
and misrepresentatio. Media coverage of the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict uses loaded words
that reflect a distinctly anti-Arab.
According to detailed study conducted in
2002 by Glasgow University showed that in
British television news, Palestinians are called
“activists,” “militants,” “extremists,” “gunmen,”
“bombers,” “terrorists,” “killers,” “assassins,”
“attackers,” “self-styled Palestinian martyrs”

and “fanatics.” Israelis are “soldiers” or “troops”
and even when an Israeli group tried to bomb a
Palestinian school, they were not “terrorists”
but instead called “vigilantes.”
The studied also showed an ignorance and
misunderstanding about the issue. A group
of U.S. college students was asked, “Who is
occupying the occupied territories and what
nationality are the settlers?” Only 29% knew
the correct answers.
Some thought the Palestinians occupy the
occupied territories, but the Israelis are the
settlers. Others thought the Israelis occupy the
occupied territories but the Palestinians are
the settlers. Only a smaller number of students
thought the Palestinians were both the settlers
and the occupiers.

EFFECT | 65

The studied conclude that the lack of
understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
leads to a lack of interest of the real situation.
RELIGION
The Media have tendency to place attention
on race and religion when describing a person
or groups of people. The public has learned
to connect those descriptions with terrible
events. After the September 11 attacks, the
media focused on Muslims as a cause of the
attacks. There usually have reports of Islamic-

study by Religious Discrimination in England
and Wales, found that most Muslim and Hindu
respondents said hostility, verbal abuse, and
unfair media coverage had become more
frequent in recent years.
Muslim organizations reported more unfair
treatment than other religious groups. Pagans
and people from new religious movements also
complained of open hostility and discrimination,
and of being labelled child abusers and cults.
Another issue is the biased often seen

The study by Religious Discrimination
in England and Wales, found that most
Muslim and Hindu respondents said
hostility, verbal abuse, and unfair
media coverage had become more
frequent in recent years.
Americans being harassed and abused because
of their religious alignment and nationalities
that match with the terrorist that attacked on
the incidents.
According to WorldWide Religious News,
organization representing the religions said
hostility and violence remained concerns. The

with new religious movements. It is often be
the case that audience get is a negative aspect
and sensationalized. For example, the most new
or minority religious movements only receive
a media coverage when something sensational
occurs, the mass suicide of a cult or illegal
activities of a leader in the religious movement.

66 | THE HIDDEN AGENDA

GENDER
Most media coverage rely on men as experts in
the fields of business, politics and economics
news. Women in the news are more likely to
be featured in stories about accidents, natural
disasters, or domestic violence than in stories
about their professional abilities or expertise.
Canadian journalist Jenn Goddu studied
newspaper and magazine coverage of three
women’s lobby groups over fifteen years period.
She discovered that journalists tend to focus on

reported that only 18% of stories quote women,
and that the number of women stories only have
10% of total news coverage.
News talk shows are also a questionable
issue. The White House Project reports that only
9% of the guests on Sunday morning news shows,
such as Meet the Press and Face the Nation are
women, and even then they only speak 10% of
the time and leaving 90% of the discussion to
the male guests. Project president Marie Wilson
warns that the lack of representation for women

AFJ reported that only 18% of stories
quote women, and that the number of
women stories only have 10% of total
news coverage.
the domestic aspects of the politically active
woman’s life, such as details about the high heels
stashed in her bag, her habit of napping in the
early evening, and her lack of concern about
whether or not she is considered ladylike, rather
than her position on the issues.
The lack of women’s coverage seems to be
a worldwide issue. In 2000 the Association of
Women Journalists (Association des femmes
journalistes or AFJ) studied news coverage of
women and women’s issues in 70 countries. AFJ

will have profound consequences on whether or
not women are perceived as competent leaders,
because “authority is not recognized by these
shows. It is created by these shows.”
Journalism professor at Boston University
Caryl River states that “Politically active women
are often underestimated and stereotyped by
the media. When Hillary Clinton was still
first lady, she was referred to as a “witch” or
“witchlike” at least 50 times in the press. Rivers
writes, “Male political figures may be called

EFFECT |

mean and nasty names, but those words don’t
usually reflect superstition and dread. Did the
press ever call Presidents Carter, Reagan, Bush,
or Clinton warlocks?”
Women athletes are also given short
coverage in the media. Margaret Carlisle
Duncan and Michael Messner studied sports
coverage on three network organizations
in Los Angeles. They report that only 9% of
airtime was dedicated to women’s sports. On
the contrary, 88% of airtime dedicated to male
athletes. On ESPN’s national sports show Sports
Center, where women athletes just have 2%
of airtime. And according to the Canadian
Association for the Advancement of Women,
Sports and Physical Activity, women athletes
receive just 3% of sports coverage in major
Canadian networks.
Another example according to Michael
Messner, the media also appears to be bias
against women’s sports by the way the events
are covered. The share quantity of coverage is
a fraction of the men’s coverage. Messner found

during the 1993 basketball tournaments, for
example, that 41 stories ran for the men, and only
ten stories for the women, the men’s stories ran
longer than the women’s, were more in depth, and
had more video footage. In short, the media was
telling the viewing audiences which of the two
events they wanted you to watch, which was of
better quality, and in the long run, building an
audience of viewers so they can charge future
sponsors top dollar. Television networks have
the ability to build audiences, and they choose
to with men’s sports.
Media images of women in sports are also
different from the male. Female athletes are
increasingly photographed in sexy poses or we
could say for “beauty rather than her game.”

67

68 | THE HIDDEN AGENDA

EFFECT | 69

“Politically active women are often
disparaged and stereotyped by the
media. When Hillary Clinton was still
first lady, she was referred to as a
‘witch or ‘witchlike at least 50 times
in the press.”
—Caryl River

Journalism professor at Boston University

70

| THE HIDDEN AGENDA

SOLUTION |

SOLUTION

71

72

| THE HIDDEN AGENDA

SOLUTION |

DESIGN FOR
CHANGE
Five design solutions for media bias.
The media bias may seem to be a minor problem and some might say that media bias
is just the way the media does bussiness. But if you take a look at the examples and
consequences from previous chapters, you will find that media bias is harmfulâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and
can affect some people physically and mentally.
As I mentioned in the previous chapters and
had discussioned with my party participants
about the problem of media bias. The inherent
problem that they pointed out is that this bias
separates us, and makes us perceive and treat
each other differently.
Some of my participants also pointed out
that people who have been manipulated and
influenced by the bias, mostly are uneducated
or less educated people because they haven't
enough critical thinking skills to analyze and
understand the messages from the media.

I think media bias is a problem that we
should care about because we are the audiences
of the media and we receive the information
from them every day. And the bias can always
manipulated us easily because it's a subtle
matter and it can control us to make us believe
in the lies and disinformation from the media.
It might start as a minor personal problem.
But eventually if the situations get worse it could
become a major problem to our society. As a
graphic designer, I'm proposing five solutions
of media bias problem.

73

74

| THE HIDDEN AGENDA

NEWS SOURCES FORUM
Register

FAQ

User Name
Password

Members List

FORUM

News Sources
General discussion forum for all new sources related topics.

“They don’t want to consider other media because
they are lazy and afraid.”
— Madeline Prichason

PROBLEM
People are lazy about watching or reading other media sources that they
aren’t familiar with or regularly view, and they are afraid that the facts
from the other sources will be against their beliefs.
AUDIENCE
News addicted and people who are interested in current events
DESIGN SOLUTION
Creating an internet forum to encourage people to exchange their
persepectives and discuss news and news sources. And they can review
and provide good and reliable news sources for others.

75

76

| THE HIDDEN AGENDA

SOLUTION |

POSTER CAMPAIGN

“Media is geared towards the uneducated.”
— Morgan McGehee

PROBLEM
The uneducated tend to buy into media bias more than educated people
because educate individuals generally have more critical thinking skills.
AUDIENCE
Uneducated and less educated people
DESIGN SOLUTION
Creating an awareness poster campaign to spread awareness about those
who are targeted by the media and educate them to understand about
media bias and how it works.

77

78

| THE HIDDEN AGENDA

SOLUTION | 79

MEDIA BIAS
GUIDEBOOK

“Scare tactics are the best way to get the
information across.”
— Nnamdi Ihemelu

PROBLEM
People are not aware about how the media is using strategies, such as scare
tactics, expert quotes and vague words to influence us.
AUDIENCE
General Public
DESIGN SOLUTION
Creating a guidebook about the media and the methods that they use to
influence us. To bring awareness to people so that they don't entirely
believe in the information that they receive from the media until it has
been proved or confirmed that it's true.

80 | THE HIDDEN AGENDA

SOLUTION |

EVENT AND
DOCUMENTARY FILM

“ The media’s the most powerful entity on earth.
They have the power to make the innocent guilty
and to make the guilty innocent, and that’s power.
Because they control the minds of the masses.”
— Malcolm X

Militant leader

PROBLEM
Media can manipulate and influence our thoughts, which could be related
to nationality, race and how we interact to each other.
AUDIENCE
General Public and journalist
DESIGN SOLUTION
Creating an event to show a documentary about the example of the
negative influence of media bias. Usinge this event to engage journalists
and public audiences in dialogue to bring awareness about consideration
of other factors, including their prejudices and biases. Also it is essential
to encourage journalists to be neutral when reporting and stay devoted
to their ethics.

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| THE HIDDEN AGENDA

MEDIA

Every student should learn about
Media Literacy

LITERACY
News & Eventy
What is Media Literacy?

Why students should learn Media literacy?
Recources for Teachers & Students
Site Map
Contact us

Supported and
Cooperating with

SOLUTION | 83

PROMOTING MEDIA
LITERACY

“ From my point of view, All you have to do is
increase everybody's Media Literacy, which means
that you have to build in Media Literacy into the
education system.”
— Allan Mann

Principal at Allan Mann Communications

PROBLEM
Media literacy is teaching a limited area study and not every student will
be inclined to learn this subject. The more media literacy you have, the
more skills of experiencing, interpreting and analyzing the media you are.
AUDIENCE
Students and educators
DESIGN SOLUTION
Creating a website to promote media literacy to bring awareness at the
school level to make a students understand, raise critical thinking skills,
and analyze the messages that inform through the media.